The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 4% next year.
"The global economy is limping rather than sprinting," the organization noted. "World economic growth will slow to 3 percent this year from 3.5 percent in 2022 and continue to slow to 2.9 percent next year." In this context, the Saudi GDP growth trend is a clear positive signal.
In its latest report, the International Monetary Fund revised its forecast for Saudi economic growth in 2023 to 0.8%.
Note: The red line of the Saudi Arabia real GDP and inflation annual growth rate data chart from 1980 to 2025 is the real GDP value chart source: IMF website
The report also predicts that Saudi Arabia's consumer price index will also decrease in 2024, from an expected 2.5 percent this year to 2.2 percent next year. The current account gap as a percentage of Saudi GDP will also fall from an expected 5.9% in 2023 to 5.4% in 2024 and eventually reach 0.5% in 2028.
In terms of regional trends, the IMF expects economic growth in the Middle East and Central Asia to slow from 5.6 percent in 2022 to 2 percent in 2023, before rebounding to 3.4 percent in 2024.
"The slowdown has been more pronounced in advanced economies than in emerging markets and developing countries," the report added. Among advanced economies, the International Monetary Fund raised its outlook for the United States, while growth forecasts for the euro area were cut.
In addition to the IMF data, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also released a report in September saying that Saudi Arabia's GDP will grow by 3.9 percent and average inflation will reach 2.1 percent by 2024, indicating that the kingdom can take effective measures to combat price pressures.
Notably, in September this year, Saudi Arabia also announced that its gross domestic product exceeded the 4.155 trillion Saudi riyals ($1 trillion) mark for the first time, achieving the national target originally set for 2025 ahead of schedule.